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RPCA Membership Services

Insurance
Program

Owning railroad equipment comes with it's own set of
challenges! One of the largest problems equipment owners experience is how to
insure a railroad passenger car! Over the years many car owners have received
very odd looks from their personal insurance agent, when the topic of insuring
rail equipment comes up. With the intent of making things easier for car owners
and to the great joy of your personal agent, RPCA initiated our Insurance
Program. The program is administered through
McCarthy Rail
Insurance Managers,
United Shortline Insurance &
Hamman-Miller-Beauchamp-
Deeble.
It provides RPCA
members with an economical source of liability and physical damage coverage. For
more information on this exciting program be sure to contact the above carriers.
Don't forget to provide them with
a copy of your RPCA membership certificate to enroll.

Single Car Test
Device

Q- What is a Single Car Test Device?

A- A single car test device is used to individually test
the air brakes on a car or locomotive. Normally used after the air brakes have
received repairs or a COT&S.
The SCTD can also be used trouble shoot the air brake system when malfunctions occur.

Over the years many regulations have been mandated by
the
Federal Railroad Administration to make the railroads a safer place.
A few of those regulations cover the recertification of Single Car
Test Devices every 92 days and the certification of the individual using the
SCDT. For any individual or company who
owns passenger equipment, this would mean that you would have to keep constantly
sending your SCTD to a shop to be recertified and it also means that as the SCTD
user you need to be certified. RPCA offers a SCTD program which
is managed by RPCA member
Pittsburgh Air Brake. For $75.00 per week plus shipping you can
rent a fully certified SCTD. For more information on this program and the SCTD
please contact
Pittsburgh Air Brake at 412-278-3600. To be a
certified SCTD user please contact the Pittsburgh Air Brake

COT&S- Is defined as Clean, Oil, Test & Stencil.
This is procedure that is performed to keep the airbrakes on a car or locomotive
in prime operating condition. It consists of sending the air brake valves to a
certified air brake shop to be taken apart, cleaned, oiled, tested & stenciled.
Reinstalling them on the car and performing an air brake test with a Single Car
Test Device. Please keep in mind this is only part of the process, and the steps
taken to perform a full COT&S will vary depending on the car and the type of air
brake systems used.

Master Wheel Gauge

Wheels, as you can imagine are a pretty important part of moving &
operating passenger cars. Like so many other aspects of railroad equipment,
wheels have federal regulations that govern their use. When you have a steel
wheel moving on a steel rail sooner or later your wheels will start to show
wear. To accurately measure your wheels so that they are compliant you will need
to use a wheel gauge. After years of service wheel gauges can be bent, worn and
out of adjustment. That is where our good friends at
Pittsburgh Air Brake step in. They maintain a master wheel gauge so
you can have yours calibrated. For more information on having your gauge
calibrated contact Pittsburgh Air Brake at 412-278-3600. Wheel
gauges can also be recertified at the annual RPCA conference.

Future Programs & Services

RPCA strives to be a proactive trade organization and is
always thinking ahead. We are working towards new services and programs to
benefit our members. To be notified of additional member services in the future
be sure to join our Email Notification. It's free and don't worry we will not
spam you or sell your email address.